Nonbiological Samples

Elevated levels of molybdenum in nonbiological materials have been reported near certain mines, power plants, and oil shale deposits, as well as in various sewage sludges, fertilizers, and agricultural drainwaters. Molybdenum is concentrated in coal and petroleum, and 

Natural molybdenum concentrations in ground and surface waters rarely exceed 20.0 xg/L significantly higher concentrations are probably due to industrial contamination. Existing wastewater and water treatment facilities remove less than 20% of the molybdenum accordingly, drinking water concentrations are near those of the untreated source. Molybdenum concentrations in saline waters appear to be directly related to salinity. In the Wadden Sea, for example, molybdenum concentrations were 0.08, 0.4, and 1.0p,g/L at salinities of 0.07,1.2, and 3.3%, respectively. 

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Table 13.1 Chlordane Concentrations in Selected Nonbiological Samples...

Air and water transport of technical chlordane has resulted in the detection of chlordane and its metabolites in nonbiological samples worldwide. Chlordane enters the atmosphere mainly through aerial applications of dust and spray formulations, soil erosion by wind, and volatilization from soil and water. In aquatic systems, chlordane enters by way of surface runoff and rainfall chlordane is rapidly adsorbed onto bottom sediments, where it persists. Atmospheric transport of chlordanes is considered the major route of global dissemination. Levels of chlordane compounds in the marine atmosphere of the southern hemisphere are nearly the same as those of DDT and its metabolites this strongly suggests that chlordane compounds are globally distributed and dispersed. The yearly input of m-chlordane to the Arctic Ocean from atmospheric sources is... 

Total zinc concentrations in nonbiological samples seldom exceed 40.0p,g/L in water, 200.0 mg/kg in soils and sediments, or 0.5 p-g/m in air. Environments heavily contaminated by anthropogenic activities may contain up to 99.0 mg Zn/L in water, 118.0 g/kg in sediments, 5.0 g/kg in soil, and 0.84 p,g/m in the atmosphere. Zinc measurements in field collections of plants and animals show several trends (1) zinc is present in aU tissues of aU organisms measured (2) concentrations are elevated in organisms near anthropogenic point sources of zinc contamination ... 

In the last one and a half decade, the broad scope of application of TERS was demonstrated on many different samples. In this chapter, selected TERS investigations of nonbiological samples are shown followed by biological specimen. For a quick overview, representative samples and the associated references are listed in Table 11.1. 

Tip-Enhanced Raman Scattering (TERS) 481 Table 11.1 Selected nonbiological samples used in TERS experiments. 

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